AN: Wow, firstly I would like to say thank-you for all the reviews! I had no idea I would get so many so fast! So here's another chapter, written just for you :) and who knows, if I get some more reviews another chapter might be up soon. Hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: Nope... I wish.


Chapter 2 - Wake Up Call

Monday; my favorite day of the week. Don't get me wrong, I love Saturdays and Sundays too. The more free time I have to spend with my mom and Luke the better. But there's something about Mondays, isn't there? A whole fresh new school week waiting to begin. Sure I sound like a freak - my mom never fails to inform me that my schooling obsession is exactly that; freakish - but it's true, I really do like nothing more than to dress in a uniform identical to everyone else's, in a place where nothing else is expected of you other than to learn.

I walked sleepily into the kitchen, happy to see the full pot of coffee Luke had put on before leaving for the Diner. Taking a mug from the cupboard above me, I filled it with what my mom and I like to call the sweet elixir of life. After taking a few gulps, I glanced at my watch and noticed I still had an hour or so to fit in some studying before I had to leave for my morning bus. And at least that way, I would have time to hang out with Dean that night. I momentarily abandoned my coffee and made my way to my room to grab my notes for my history exam. As I walked back outside, books in arms, I was greeted by a shriek, and the thud of shoes falling to the floor.

"Oh, Hon, you're up. Here I was sneaking around and trying not to wake you." Mom said, holding a hand to her chest.

"Oh, I've been up for a while now," I smiled, putting my books down on the table and taking a seat, "I figured I could get in some study time so I won't feel bad about Dean coming over tonight."

"I try to be a good mother, tell you to go wild, get a tattoo, and then you just rebel against me and be all responsible." My mom said sarcastically as she too grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee. "Mmm." She sighed as she took a sip and then moved over to sit next to me. "So Dean's coming over tonight?"

"Yep, we're gonna order Chinese and catch up on some movies. What movie do you want to watch?"

"We can stop by at the video store after I get back from the Inn. So you and Dean seem to be going well?"

"Yeah, everything's going really well." I said, unable to hide my smile.

Mom smiled at me. "That's great, kid. Well I'm gonna go take a shower. Pop me a Pop Tart?"

"Sure." I said, and then pausing, I look back up at her. "What if Jess wants a Pop Tart? And a shower. He probably wants a shower, too. Do you think he wants a shower?"

"I don't know. I think all that gel in his hair has been accumulating for years, wouldn't want to ruin it now."

"Has he been living with us long enough for us to make jokes like that? How long does someone have to be living with you to be eligible joke material?"

"I think it depends. Add a brick wall and a drum clap, and then yes, definitely joke material."

"Mom, would you try to be serious?"

"Kid, stop panicking. From what I know of Jess he's not exactly demanding. Just put on an extra Pop Tart and if he wants a shower when I'm done then he can have one."

"Okay," I said, feeling more relieved than as I grabbed three Pop Tarts and put them in the toaster. "Wait," I said, turning around again to face mom, "Do you think we need to wake him up?"

Mom paused for a second too. "I don't know, Luke didn't say. Do you think he will wake up by himself?"

"I don't know. He only has an hour before he has to be at school. Maybe you should wake him."

"Oh, no, no, no. I am so not putting myself in the position of waking a teenage boy."

"It can't be that bad."

"Have you seen Luke in the morning?"

"Hmm, good point. Maybe we can just turn the T.V on. That would wake him, wouldn't it?"

"Yes. Good Idea! And that way, we can use the remote at a safe, far away distance."

I rolled my eyes at my mom as I followed her into the lounge. And there was Jess, sleeping soundly with his head shoved into the pillow and his hair a scruffy mess. Not exactly graceful, but he did look kind of cute.

My mom walked passed me, grabbing the remote, and retreating to a safe, far away place from Jess.

"I still don't understand why you're so afraid to wake him?" I whispered quietly to my mom, walking over to join her.

"Kid, believe me, when a teenage boy is woken from their precious, precious sleep, they will lash out and attack... anyone that's in sight... attack, kill... I believe there is a horror movie just based on it being filmed as we speak."

"Uh-huh, sure. So what's it called?" I said raising my eyebrows cynically.

"What's what called?"

"The movie."

"The movie?"

"The horror movie being filmed as we speak."

"Oh... uh... no name decided."

"Uh-huh, so are you done?"

"Hmmm... yep okay, I'm done... well then... good luck on waking him, sweets." Mom said, handing over the remote and turning to make a run for it.

"Mom!"

"Shoot. Okay, fine, here we go."

Mom grabbed the remote back off of me, and we both cringed as she made to press the button. But then, suddenly, the phone began to ring.

Mom screamed, jumping and putting a hand to her chest. And then we both looked over at Jess with fear, only to find that he was still sound asleep.

"Amazing." Mom whispered in awe, as she turned to answer the phone.

"Hello? Michel? ...What? Nooo, you were supposed to be greeting the Habblestaffs this morning... Michel I don't care what 'Us Weekly' is saying, the chemical toxin level in the air has not risen... It will ruin your skin's oil balance? Michel, man, you can not be serious! ...Michel?"

"He hung up on me." Mom pouted, putting down the receiver.

"Yes, well you were being so supportive." I said mockingly.

"I'm sorry babe, but I have to go, the Habblestaffs will be arriving at the inn in an hour. You're gonna have to wake Jess while I take a shower."

"But... what? Mom! The horror movies!"

"Sorry, babe." Mom said, giving me an apologetic look as she made her way upstairs.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair nervously as I looked back down at the sleeping figure. Changing my mind, I made my way back into the kitchen. Surely he would wake up soon.

Taking the three Pop Tarts that were toasted, I placed each one on a separate plate on the table, and glancing at my watch again, I noticed that Jess had less than forty minutes before he was due at school. So with a sigh of defeat, I grabbed his plate off the table, preferring not to go in empty handed, and treaded cautiously into the lounge again.

I sat down beside him and softly nudged him. He stirred slightly and mumbled an almost incoherent "Hmm?"

Holding my hand to my face, I tried hard not to laugh. And as his eyes squinted open, I pulled my hand away from my mouth and flashed him an innocent smile. "Morning, sleepy."

Jess rolled his eyes at me, before giving me a small smirk as he lifted himself up so that he was facing me. With a jolt I realized just how close to me he was, and how his muscles tensed under the weight of his body... and the way his muffled hair, sticking up in places, didn't look so cute any more, but unbelievably sexy. Whoa! I should not be thinking something like that! Should I? No, I think it's definitely safe to say that I should not be thinking something like that. But it's hard not to think that when it is - he - is. Stop! Dean! Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean!

As I snapped out of my inward battle, I noticed that Jess was raising his brow at me with confusion. How long had I been staring at him? Trying to hide the reddening of my cheeks, I stared down at the plate I was holding.

"Uhh... you... so... pop tart?" What was wrong with me? A high GPA score in English and my sentences were coming out like that? Wait, that wasn't even a sentence! I probably sounded so stupid!

But then I felt his hand graze the tips of my fingers as the weight of the plate was lifted, and all thoughts left my mind. I took in a sharp intake of air as the soft tingle it left spread up my arms and left me feeling light headed. I looked back up at him wide-eyed and he held my gaze intensely.

But then we were interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and for some reason I jumped quickly - and rather awkwardly - to my feet.

"Showers free," Mom said, almost out of breath as she ran down the last few steps, tying back her still wet hair messily, "Jess, I left a spare towel and bar of soap on the counter for you. Bye sweets."

She kissed my cheek quickly, before leaving like a blur out the front door, only stopping to grab her handbag and coat. As the door clicked shut, Jess stood up and we were again face to face. But before I had time to blush, he smirked at me and turned to make his way to the stairs, leaving me feeling more awkward than ever. And trying desperately to rid the nauseating, nervous feeling that was now slowly creeping up my stomach, I turned quickly to the door, escaping before he could give me a second glance.

oOoOoOo

This time when I stepped off my afternoon bus, I was greeted by someone completely different.

"Lane!" I screamed, running over to my best friend I hadn't seen for months and attacking her with my arms.

"Rory! Oh my God, I missed you!" She squealed, hugging me tightly back.

"I missed you too! When did you get back?" I asked her, still excited about her return.

"This morning. I figured I would come here and surprise you, so... surprise!"

"Wow! I can't believe you're actually back! How was Korea?"

"Well, surprisingly it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think I may have actually had fun. But I have to say I am more than glad to be back home."

"Well, I'm more than glad to have you home, too." I smiled, as we began to walk back to my house. "Hey, you should come over tonight. We're having a movie night and ordering Chinese. It should be fun."

Lane smiled back at me. "Sure. Sounds great. Well I better get back; apparently I have a lot of bible classes to catch up on."

"Okay, see you tonight."

"Bye, Rory."

oOoOoOo

"See, why pay money to see high budget special affects when you can see an elevator hoisted in the sky by a string? It's a classic." Mom pointed out obviously, as the movie was coming to a finish.

"I still think we should have gone with Lord of the Rings." Dean disagreed.

"Well, you're our movie night guest. This is out of your hands."

"I can't believe you still think you have any power over movie night." I laughed.

"Well you're just lucky I love you, then." Dean said, kissing me on the cheek.

"Okay, I'm officially nauseous." Lane stated.

"And officially hungry." Mom added.

"How can you possibly still be hungry?"

"Dean, Dean, Dean," Mom said, shaking her head, "You still have so much more to learn. I'm gonna get some more popcorn."

Mom jumped to her feet energetically, grabbing the empty bowl and making her way into the kitchen.

"Well, I guess I better get going," Lane sighed.

"Yeah, me too." Dean added.

But just before we reached the door, it opened and Jess entered carrying a bag of books from the bookstore. When he saw me he stopped in his tracks and smirked at me. "Hey."

"Hey." I replied nervously, staring down at a spot on the carpet. "So this is Lane, my best friend. And this is Dean."

Jess's eyes shifted from me to Dean. "Boyfriend?"

"Of course." Dean answered, wrapping his arm around me and kissing me on the cheek goodnight. "Bye, Rory. It was nice meeting you, Jess." He added politely before leaving.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Jess." Lane said, following Dean out the door.

As the door closed behind them, I brang my gaze back to Jess and noticed that he was staring at me.

"Who wants popcorn?" Mom called loudly, walking back into the lounge, "Oh, hi Jess. Did Dean and Lane go home?" Mom said, turning to ask me.

"Oh, yeah. School tomorrow." I mumbled, feeling Jess' eyes still on me.

"Oh, okay. Well it's getting late so I'll let you two get some sleep. Night, sweets. Night, Jess."

"Goodnight." I said to my mom as she walked up the stairs to her room. I looked back at Jess, only to see he was still staring at me with a smirk now creeping up the edges of his lips.

"What?" I asked him, starting to get irritated.

"Nothing." He shrugged. But then he started to smirk again, and I knew there was more meaning behind that 'nothing'.

"Fine, then. Be evasive... again. I'm going to bed."

But when I turned to leave, I heard his footsteps and turned to see that he was following me, his hands shoved in his pockets and that ridiculous smirk still plastered on his face.

"What?" I asked again, growing more irritated by the second.

"Was that a date?"

"What?"

"With your boyfriend. Just then, was that a date?"

"Yes, why?"

Jess chuckled slightly, leaning against the doorway. "Oh, nothing. The chemistry you two have is amazing. That goodnight kiss looked so intense. Oh, and it seemed like you had a pretty heated night, what with your mom and best friend joining you. Are all your dates like that?"

"W-what? No, of course not. We have other dates. Plenty... all the time." I said, trying to keep my voice steady as I tried to remember the last real date Dean and I had had.

"Like..." Jess drawled out in a prompting tone.

"Well... well, we... you know, I don't see how this is any of your business anyhow. What I do with my boyfriend doesn't concern you, and I will do with him what I like." And yes, that did come out slightly wrong.

"Wow, did I hit a nerve? Sorry, I didn't mean for you to get so defensive."

"I'm not getting defensive. I'm not getting defensive at all. I'm just stating the facts." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Jess' mouth began to twitch, and he was obviously trying to hold back a laugh.

"Are you done?" I asked him in an annoyed tone, and with a final smirk he nodded at me.

"Goodnight, Rory."

I didn't answer him, but simply marched quickly off to my room in a rather furious state.

But then I closed my door, leaning back against it sadly.

Maybe he was right.